


Until Eternity

by Perishthethought



Category: Original Work, objectum - Fandom
Genre: Death, F/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27851834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perishthethought/pseuds/Perishthethought
Summary: A short and sweet story about a woman and her journey through life with her partner who just so happens to be a stuffed animal.TW; Death!
Relationships: human/object
Kudos: 1





	Until Eternity

**Author's Note:**

> To W, I really meant don't read this first thing in the morning. You're gonna be sad. 
> 
> To everyone else, I wrote this while heavily caffeinated and sick, I make NO promises for grammar, but the story holds.

The heart monitor in the corner beeps incessantly, and the gently flashing light woke the woman in the bed for the millionth time. Amanda was old now, but even as a child she had never liked a light on while she was sleeping. She tried to pull herself into a sitting position, but fell back, the beeping taking an angry tone at her exertion. She rolled her eyes and reached around her bed. She eventually found what she was looking for and laid back down. 

_ Amanda; Age thirteen _

Amanda hadn’t “always known she was different”, really, it was just as much a shock to her as it would be to everyone she told. But there she was, on a field trip with her middle school class, standing in a museum gift shop, weak in the knees, heart pounding, mouth dry and palms sweating over a stuffed dog. He wasn’t the most fantastical plush toy in the shop, just a small brown dog with floppy limbs and a stitched on smile, surrounded by dinosaurs and exotic animals. Amanda picked him up slowly, her hands shaking slightly as she lifted him off the shelf. Taking him to the cash register was a haze, she was never actually certain she’d paid for him, but no one had said otherwise so she assumed she must have at some point. The bus ride back to school was spent staring into his hard plastic eyes- a rich mahogany- and considering what his name could possibly be. Amanda’s parent’s picked her up from the school on time, and spent the car ride back to their house teasing her gently for buying a stuffed animal at her age, but she wasn’t really paying attention. Honestly, Amanda didn’t pay attention to anything much at all the rest of that day, she barely touched her dinner, and went running off to her room the second the meal was over. She didn’t even touch her homework that night, she just sat at her desk with the stuffed dog staring balefully at her from under her lamp. Finally, after many hours of deliberation, she quietly whispered “Lucky”, and it stuck. 

_ Amanda; age seventeen _

Graduation was around the corner, and Amanda was excited for several reasons. Firstly, because she had been accepted into her top choice, and secondly, but more importantly to her, her parents had hired a photographer to take pictures of her and Lucky to mark the occasion. There had been an adjustment period for everyone, when three months after buying a stuffed animal on a trip Amanda had announced that she was Objectumsexual, and was dating Lucky. To their credit, her parent’s had tried remarkably hard at first to avoid asking invasive questions, but after the first six months of awkwardness, Amanda sat down, Lucky in her lap, and hosted her very first Q and A session. After talking for a few hours, the atmosphere at home noticeably improved, and Lucky and Amanda’s relationship became normal. On their one year anniversary, Amanda’s parents brought them a cake with a small dog figurine on it. Now, four years later, they were still just as supportive, despite their extended family being rather unnerved by their daughter's partner. 

“Amanda! Come on the photographer will be here any minute!” mom called, prompting Amanda to drop her hair brush in surprise. 

“Oh shoot! I haven’t even gotten you ready yet!” she chirped, looking at Lucky, who was sitting patiently next to the cap and gown that Amanda had hand sewn for him. It matched hers to a T, even down to a miniature version of her cords from the honors society. Amanda’s defense for this was that Lucky had attended every class with her, so he deserved the recognition just as much as she did. Thankfully, Lucky was easier to dress than a teenage girl, as he flopped patiently on his side while she fussed with the snaps in his gown. 

Walking down the stairs, dressed and ready for senior photographs. Amanda and Lucky were greeted with mom and dad standing at the bottom of the stairs. Mom’s eyes were misty but she was smiling so wide that Amanda thought it must hurt, and her dad had his usual stoic facial expression, but the pride in his eyes shone like the sun. 

“You look wonderful sweetheart,” he said, his voice breaking just enough to imply he’d been crying too.

“We’re so proud of you Amanda, and you too Lucky, you helped her more than I’ll ever understand,” Mom said, wiping the tears from her eyes and holding out her arms to hug her daughter. The doorbell rang, making Amanda jump while she was leaning towards her mother. It was the photographer. 

“Hi folks! Are we all ready to get set up?” he asked jovially. Amanda stiffened, this wasn’t the photographer she was expecting. The usual family friend they hired had already met Lucky, and was at least polite. 

“Excuse me? Where’s Todd?” Mom asked, squeezing Amanda’s hand for comfort. 

“Oh he’s out I’m afraid, stomach virus. But no worries! He trained me himself and if I may say so myself, the student has surpassed the teacher. I’m Robin by the way,” he said, reaching out to shake hands with Dad, who was the closest to him. 

“Can I speak to you in the other room for just a moment? The ladies will get themselves set up outside,” said Dad, his voice suddenly cold. Amanda scooped Lucky into her arms and helped her mom pick up the flower bouquet they had bought just for today. They went outside quickly, but before they did Amanda heard the words “Different,” “Partner,” and “Be Polite”. When they were finished setting Amanda up on the bench in their backyard that was surrounded by Mom’s flower beds, the photographer appeared, carrying his equipment. When he saw Lucky sitting next to Amanda, who was holding his paw, he looked back at Dad, who just furrowed his brows. 

“So! Shall we get one of the lovely couple first, and then one with each parent, then one with the whole family together? And Amanda would you and Luke-” 

“Lucky” Dad interrupted

“Pardon me, Lucky, would you and Lucky like an individual photo each?” Robin asked, smiling somewhat awkwardly. The interaction was awkward, but the pictures came out beautifully, and Dad made sure that Amanda didn’t hear any of the snide comments made by the family members who saw them on their mantle. 

_ Amanda; Age twenty five _

The wedding had gone spectacularly well. Her dad walked her down the aisle, beaming with pride, and her younger sister held Lucky at the altar, on a silk pillow, finely dressed in a hand made tuxedo. Mom had made all of the decorations, even the paper flowers that hung alongside the altar, in Amanda’s favorite shade of yellow. The entire family wasn’t in attendance, but to be fair, most of them weren’t invited. Among the crowd on the bride's side was her roommate from college, her sister’s boyfriend, and his younger brother who was under instruction to be on his best behavior. There was also an assortment of friends, both from high school, college, and even a few from the Objectum support group that Amanda had founded when she moved back to her hometown after graduation. On the groom's side, the bride’s guest’s had all been asked to bring their most beloved object to attend the festivities. In attendance there were quite a few teddy bears, run ragged with time, a laptop, several pieces of Jewelry, and an antique recipe box, which had come with Mom, a relic from her own mother who had passed before Amanda was born. Dad had bought his tool kit, he had claimed it was a joke, but he truly loved every tool in it, having even tied a jaunty yellow bow to the handle for the occasion. It had taken them ages to find a priest willing to perform the ceremony, but they were quite pleased with the ultimate decision. Father Francis had been willing to accept many things, upon meeting Lucky his only question was “and will the groom be converting to Catholicism before or after the marriage?” having reasoned that if the lord can turn a man's wife to a pillar of salt, he could turn a stuffed dog to a woman’s husband. The ceremony went off with only one small hitch, which was when Mom was crying so hard that she dropped one of the rings. She quickly bounced back, and everyone had a good chuckle. 

Now that they were both home, Amanda sat Lucky on their bed while she went to take off the dress from the reception. 

“I had a great day today, I think it was so sweet to see what everyone brought to put on your side! Did you see that Robbie brought Stephan? I was so touched, you know how protective he is of him, I guess it makes sense, Laptops are more easily damaged than stuffed toys…” she paused as she walked into the closet.

“Oh and Sue brought BearBear! It was so nice to see everyone dancing with their date’s tonight. I’m thinking maybe we should do a yearly ball, what do you think, Lucky?” Amanda asked, walking to the bedside table and picking up her pendulum. After steadying it, the crystal on the end began to spin clockwise. 

“I knew you’d agree! I’m going to write it down so I don’t forget, but from now until the end of next week I’m all yours, I have tons of plans! We’re going on a day trip tomorrow! To the museum we met at! But I’m sure you remember I’ve been talking about that all week. And then we have reservations at that nice restaurant downtown, and an entire stack of nature trail brochures to pick from!” Amanda said, bouncing happily on her heels. She calmed herself down after a moment of letting the excitement take hold. 

“But… I’m most excited about getting to spend an entire week with you,” she said, lovingly stroking Lucky’s head. She picked him up and kissed his nose. 

“Now let’s get your pajama’s on, you must be so sick of that suit by now!” she giggled.

_ Amanda; Age forty five.  _

She had indeed begun a yearly objectum ball, the group she was running had taken off, so much so that she couldn’t manage it on her own anymore. Now she was simply the founder, and leader of her own district. There were now twenty eight different groups that meet weekly over the entire United states, there had originally been one in Canada as well, but they eventually split to form their own organization. This year the ball was being held in Los Angeles in a convention center. The tickets had almost completely sold out, leaving only the reserve for people who wanted to pay at the door, and the hotels nearby had been getting calls for weeks from people asking for rooms for themselves and a partner, usually accompanied by a strange request in accommodations, such as extension cords, dryer sheets on the pillow as well as mints, batteries and in one notable case a fish tank. The hotel employee said they didn’t allow pets, but the man on the phone explained it was actually for his partner, and they wouldn’t be bringing any animals with them. They eventually compromised on a large basin that could be filled with water, which left the employee bewildered, but the customer pleased. 

This year, Amanda and Lucky were the guests of honor, to commemorate their twenty year anniversary. They arrived fashionably late (read: Amanda couldn’t find her glasses), and were met with applause from the human attendees. Looking around her, Amanda could see (she eventually found her glasses) a beautiful array of couples of all types, everyone who could wear clothes was dressed nicely, and all of the women had some sort of Objectum flag jewelry or accessory on display. They cheered Amanda and Lucky as they walked to the podium, and laughed politely as she struggled to turn on the microphone and the ASL interpreter had to step in to assist her. 

“Hello Everyone!” her voice rang out across the room. The crowd clapped politely and waited for her to begin her speech for real. 

“As you all know, this is a special night for all of us-” she paused while the scattered cheers rang out, “but it’s especially important to me. As many of you know, today marks twenty years of marriage to my beloved husband, Lucky-” The crowd cheered wholeheartedly this time, a few people shouting their congratulations over the clamor. “Lucky and I are incredibly grateful to all of you, not only for supporting us over the years, but also for the simple act of being. Today is the one day for many of us that we can spend time with those we love as a public couple, and I am not forgetting those of you who’s partner’s could not be here physically tonight, I look out on you now and see many photographs, lovingly framed of your partners who cannot be here, either inside this venue or in this city at all. But all of you, I want to say thank you. This is the nineteenth year in a row that we have had this event, and every past year someone has told me, and I am sure that someone will approach me this evening as well, to say that they didn’t know that we were here. That they thought they were alone, that they were wrong. And I want to say. Thank you! All of you who come to this event, whether this is your only public event or if you live your truth full time as I myself am so privileged to do. If it weren’t for you, living your truth today, there would be no one here to give hope to our newest memories. So Please, remember. If not loud, Live Proud!” Amanda finished on the groups catchphrase, that ended every single meeting across the nation. She hugged Lucky to her chest, and felt his pride radiating like heat as the attendee’s applauded, and she saw many familiar faces wiping tears from their eyes. 

Amanda spent the rest of the night mingling with friends old and new, and she was indeed approached by some new members. The first was a new couple, a young girl and her partner, a portable video game system affectionately named Glitch, and an older man with his partner represented as a photograph, as the event space that could allow cars had yet to be found. Amanda felt that she was being pretentious, accepting their thanks for “Allowing them to be themselves”. She escaped quietly back to their room with Lucky as soon as she could. She knew that by being so public she was all there was in the way of a role model for many of these people, but she resented the implication that she was special. 

_ Amanda, age seventy six.  _

Having never had children, Amanda moved into a nursing home of her own volition when she started having trouble getting up the stairs to her home. She didn’t mind it, the other resident’s weren’t interested in talking with her, but she had a steady stream of visitors throughout the hours when they were allowed, and of course, Lucky was at her side constantly. He was showing signs of age as well, the paint on his nose had worn off, so it was no longer black, rather a brownish pink plastic, and he had many scars from repairs over the past sixty years, some of which were hidden by his fur, some of which were obvious. Amanda herself was showing her age, her heart had never been the strongest, and now that she was elderly, it wasn’t holding up as well as she had hoped it would. The doctors talked about getting her a pacemaker, but she said no, her work was done. Besides, she had never much liked doctors. 

“Mrs. Amanda?” A woman's voice woke her from her midmorning nap. 

“Oh! Jessie is that you? Come in, come in my dear!” Amanda said, sitting up straighter in her arm chair and fixing her glasses. 

“Hello Mrs. Amanda!” Jessie said, sitting herself beside Amanda in a folding chair left by one of the nurses. Amanda placed Lucky so that he could face their guest as well. 

“Hello honey, did you bring Charlie with you?” she asked, taking the young woman’s hand in her wrinkled one. 

“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry he would’ve loved to see you but I came straight here from work, and people at the office have been giving me trouble about ‘that darn bear’. And I couldn’t just leave him in the car you know…” Jessie said, looking at the ground blushing. 

“Oh, honey I’m sorry they’re being so rotten. You know I think I still have some pamphlets in my desk over-” 

“No, no I wanted to tell you something.” Jessie interrupted. Amanda’s head swam with ideas of what the young woman could say next. Jessie had been disowned by her own parents when she had tried to live publicly with her first partner, and Amanda had acted as something of a surrogate grandmother ever since. She couldn’t imagine what Jessie had to tell her that made her need to rush straight from work. 

“Do you remember that man I told you about? From work? The politician?” Amanda nodded

“He offered me a job, in his office!” 

“Honey that’s wonderful! You’ll be able to save up for that wedding in no time if the pay’s good!” Amanda said, her voice shaky with age but every bit as cheerful as it once was. 

“No, no you don’t understand. He wants me to help with his new campaign for next year. On the marriage platform…” 

“Honey gay marriage has been legal since I was your age, what is he some kind of republican? Why I thought I taught you better than to go repealing other people’s rights to-” 

“No! He wants to rewrite the state law to say this!” Jessie said, handing Amanda a piece of laminated paper. Amanda looked at it quizzically, peering over her glasses to read it. 

It said;  **And hereby in the state of California a marriage shall be between two consenting adults regardless of gender, or an adult found to be of sound mind and any object they may wish to legally bind themselves to under the extent of the law.**

Amanda had to read it four times before she really believed she’d read it correctly. 

“He’s going to push for this?” Amanda said, tears in her eyes. 

“Yes! To the governor himself if he has to.” Jessie said, squeezing Amanda’s hand. 

_ Amanda; Present day, age 84 _

The law was never changed, but the public push for it was met with just as much support as jokes, which Amanda considered to be the principal success of her lifetime. She had been admitted to the hospital a week ago, they said her heart wouldn’t last her the night. She had made a point to say what a long night it had been every morning during the doctors rounds. Now she was sleeping softly with Lucky resting on her chest, an indescribable comfort during the long nights when Jessie and Tommy weren’t there to visit her. Tommy’s birth had surprised everyone, except Jessie of course. But he was well loved by everyone in the community, and was respectful to everyone, especially his mother and Charlie, his “papa bear”. The light flashed again, and the beeping became frantic, raising Amanda from her slumber. She sat up, easily this time and looked at the monitor in disgust. She went to grab the nurse call button and was momentarily taken aback. Firstly, her hand passed right through the remote, and secondly, her hands were no longer wrinkled and worn with age, but now looked exactly as they had when she was twenty. Oh. She thought. 

“Is that really your only reaction to being dead? Oh?” Came a voice from behind her. She jumped to her feet with a speed she hadn’t had for decades. She didn’t recognize the voice, but it was so familiar somehow. She spun around looking for the speaker, but was instead distracted.   
“Oh no! Lucky… What are they going to do with you…” she said mournfully, trying in vain to pick up her beloved husband. 

“It’s alright, I’m over here, not in there anymore” She looked around again for the voice. This time, she found it. A spot of light, just a pin prick really. As she looked at it it slowly began to form into a shape. The light took the shape of the stuffed dog she had loved for all these years, but now made out of what looked like galaxies. 

“I’m glad we can finally talk like this. The pendulum never really got what I wanted to say across,” Lucky said, his star light eyes meeting hers as he floated into her arms. 

“What did you want to say?”

“Just how much I love you, It’s going to take awhile, but it’s alright-” He said, pointing his nose towards the door, which no longer led to a hospital hallway, but instead to a path through a garden that looked like one of Amanda’s favorite parks from her youth. “We have eternity.” 


End file.
